Doppelganger
by S-Michael
Summary: how can Danny beat someone who knows everything about him, someone who has his powers and wears his face...especially when he is powerless?
1. Chapter 1

Doppelganger

S-Michael

"Hey, Danny, are you alright?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Danny said, shaking. He sneezed, and blew a hole in the wall of the school hallway. "Uh, maybe not. Let's get out of here before someone sees this." It was a pure and simple stroke of luck that there was no one there now.

Sam, Danny, and Tucker sped up their pace. "_Oh, yeah, _you're alright," Sam said sarcastically.

"Maybe you're developing a new ghost power, like when you got that ice ray thing," Tucker suggested.

"Yeah, well, for all this suffering, it had better be good," Danny said darkly. Danny started to sneeze, and stopped himself. "I think I should try not to do that," he said, remembering the hole in the wall.

Off in the distance, they heard Mr. Lancer shout, "Gulliver's Travels!" Yeah, the hole had been discovered, alright.

"I think we had better get to class," Sam suggested.

"Good idea," said Danny.

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Meeting after the school bell sounded, Sam noticed that Danny looked even worse for the ware. "God, Danny, you look like…" she almost said _a ghost._

"Yeah, I know," Danny said, glumly. "I felt like I had a cold earlier. Now I feel like every single muscle in my body has a Charlie Horse," he complained. Then he shook violently. "I've been having tremors like that for an hour. Jesus Christ, I feel like a junkie."

"We should take the route through the abandoned construction site," Sam said.

"What? But that would take us even longer to get home," Tucker said.

"Yes, but that way there won't be anyone around to get hurt if something happens…like earlier," Sam said. "I've got the feeling that the next time, it'll be bigger."

"Sam's right," Danny said. "In fact, you should let me go alone. I don't want you guys getting hurt."

"Yeah, right, Danny," Tucker said. "In the state you're in, you could collapse."

They went down their chosen path, not saying anything. Then Danny started to sneeze, and the other two had barely enough time to get away before he blew a pothole in the ground and collapsed to his hands and knees.

Tucker looked at the hole and whistled. "That's a nice bit of damage."

"I just hope that this isn't all this new power does," Danny said. "There's something a bit undignified about sneezing your enemies into submission." Then he had a fit of sneezing, blowing a series of holes in the packed earth.

"Uh, are you alright?" Tucker asked, staying a safe distance back with Sam.

Danny nodded, getting to his feet. "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I feel a little bit better." As if the gods of irony were watching, that was the exact moment that he fell to the ground on his back and started screaming in pain and thrashing wildly. Sam and Tucker, acting before they had a chance to think, ran towards him, calling his name.

Then, unbelievably, right before their very eyes, they watched as Danny's ghost-half crawled its way out of his human half. Sam and Tucker looked back and forth between them, as if their minds refused to grasp that their friend was in two places at once, and Danny stared up at Danny, who stared back. Then the ghost Danny looked down at himself, grinned, and whooped.

"Ha ha! I did it! I'm free!" ghost-Danny shouted gleefully.

"What's going on?" boy-Danny asked.

"What's going on is that I'm finally free of you," ghost-Danny said, glaring down at his human counterpart. "Do you have _any_ idea how _long_ I have been inside of you, trapped in your body? Well, now I am free…" ghost-Danny's hands began to glow, "…and it is time for a little revenge."

"We should run," boy-Danny said in a curiously flat and deadpan tone.

"Yeah," Sam echoed. They ran for it, dodging plasma blasts, and hid behind some wreckage.

"Come on, now, I was just joking," ghost-Danny shouted at them. "You should have seen the looks on your faces." Danny stuck his head out, and saw a blast of plasma headed right for him. Stunned, not thinking, he tried to shield himself, and was shocked to find that it worked. The shield was weak, and the blast forced its way through, but it didn't kill him. "I'd say that it's impressive that you discovered that you're regenerating so soon, but, knowing you, I know you did that by blind instinct. The next attack won't be so soft." Ghost-Danny's hands began to glow bright green. "I suggest you run while you've still got the chance."

The three humans ran. "Maybe if I can shield, I can still go ghost," Danny shouted mid-flight.

"It's worth a shot," Sam shouted back.

Danny tried to transform, but nothing happened. "Damn it."

"Guys, follow me," Tucker shouted. Having no better plan, Sam and Danny did as they were told and followed him. He suddenly vanished, but before Danny could stop and try to figure out what happened, he was on the spot that Tucker was and fell down the same hole. Danny noticed a distinctive and extremely unpleasant smell, and then landed in what he hoped was water. Before Danny could catch his breath, Sam landed on him and forced him under again.

"Jesus Christ, this stuff _stinks!_" Danny shouted.

"I think I got it in my eyes," Sam complained.

"Just be glad that that's the _only_--"

Tucker hushed them, and they treaded "water" in silence.

"Oh, Danny boy. Where are you?" ghost-Danny taunted from above. "Well, alright, then. I have several months in which I can kill you before your ghost body will regenerate, and even if you survive that long, it'll be at best an even battle, and your reputation will have been thoroughly trashed by me." Ghost-Danny flew off.

"Please tell me we aren't where I think we are," Sam whispered.

"We are," Tucker answered.

"How did you even know that this place was here?" Danny asked.

"I fell down that manhole a couple of years ago. I still have nightmares about it. It's why I try to avoid this place," Tucker said. "So, what's the deal with your evil twin?"

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"I don't think that that was my ghost-half," Danny said.

"It sure looked like it to us," Sam said.

"Yeah, but the more I think about it…well, for one thing, this didn't happen when I split myself using the ghost splitter," Danny said. "Besides, he said that my ghost side would regrow, and if he _was_ my ghost side…that wouldn't happen, would it?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know; they don't have metaphysics for an elective at Casper High," she said dryly.

"And he said that he was _trapped within_ my body, not that he was a part of me…and besides, I would know if I had _that_ inside of me," Danny said.

"You just said that that _was_ inside of you," Tucker said.

"You know what I mean," Danny said, exasperated.

"So if it isn't…you know, you…what is it, and how did it steal your ghost half?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. In fact, there is only one person I can think of who even _might_ know what is going on here," Danny said.

"You don't mean--" Tucker started to say.

"I do," Danny said.

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"Vladimir Masters, also known as Plasmius," ghost-Danny said.

"Well, well, well; if it isn't Daniel Fenton," Vlad said. "What can I do for you this time?"

"Actually, it isn't," ghost-Danny said. "Danny, I mean. And if I know that _sap_ like I think I do--and I do--then he is on his way here to see if you can't figure out what I am and why he doesn't have ghost powers anymore. Tell me, _do_ you know what I am?"

"Assuming you're telling the truth? I have an idea," Vlad said.

"And no doubt, as smart as you are, that idea is correct," ghost-Danny said. "I was afraid of that. You see, I can't allow you to tell him."

Vlad crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Oh? I suppose that this is the part where you are going to try to kill me. Emphasis on _try_."

"Now, now, my good man. It doesn't have to come to that," the ghost said. "After all, we both hate him? Do we not? I know for a fact that he hates you, at least."

"What are you proposing, exactly?" Vlad asked.

"He is coming here, and he will be weak and powerless on your doorstep. Do I need to spray paint 'golden opportunity' on these expensive walls of yours?"

"Ah," Vlad said. "And what do you get out of this, exactly?"

"Danny Fenton dead," ghost-Danny said.

"I see. One more question," Vlad said.

"What?" ghost-Danny asked.

"What is your name?" Vlad asked.

Ghost-Danny smiled, "You _are_ smart," and then he disappeared.

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"Why are we taking the bus, again?" Tucker asked.

"Because when I tried to touch the ghost portal, it almost electrocuted me," Danny said.

"Yeah, I know. I was just complaining out loud," Tucker, who was sitting next to an unconscious homeless person, said. He whiffed audibly. "This guy smells like pee."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, sewer boy," Sam said.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Tucker asked flatly.

"Nope," Sam confirmed unnecessarily.

"It's strange, how the Fenton Portal did that," Jazz mused.

"Seriously, do we _have_ to sit next to this guy?" Tucker pleaded.

"There's that 'Welcome to Wisconsin' sign," Danny said. "We're near where Vlad lives."

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Danny knew that going to his arch enemy for help was probably not the best idea he had ever had. The thing was that he had no idea what he was going up against, except that his enemy knew everything there was to know about him, and he was for all practical purposes powerless. A single ecto blast drained him, and it took two hours for him to gain enough energy to do it again. He learned quickly not to do it altogether. In short, the situation did not look good.

They were at Vlad's front door. "So, what? We just knock?" Tuck thought aloud.

"Not very dramatic, I know, but…" Danny knocked. Then the floor below him gave out. The four of them landed, not very softly, in Vlad's lab.

"Ah, Danny, nice to see you again," Vlad said.

"Trap doors, Vlad?" Danny asked. "Come on."

"Hey, it caught you, didn't it? As a matter of fact, I have to wonder why you didn't just fly out of it…unless, of course, it's because you don't have your powers," Vlad said. "Don't look so shocked, Danny my boy. Your…shall we say, other half…was here three days ago. He said that you'd be coming. I'd always figured you for the type to stand your ground and muscle it out, myself, but I guess he _does_ know you better than I do. And now you're powerless and at my mercy. Oh, this is beginning to look like a great day!"

"We may not have ghost powers, but we are _far_ from powerless," Danny said, preparing to charge Vlad.

Vlad used his index finger and blasted Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Danny. The prior three were incapacitated, but Danny used his ghost shield, and almost succeeded in blocking it. Almost. Vlad's blast broke through in the end, it didn't freeze him, but it did give him a huge shock. Danny screamed.

"Hmm," Vlad said. "It seems your reaction to ectoplasm in this state is quite painful. Interesting." Danny remembered being shocked by the Ghost Portal. _You have got to be kidding me._ As if things couldn't get worse, and then this tidbit of information rears its ugly head. "Ah, well. Restraints." Suddenly, restraints came out of the floor and tied him down, and then the floor turned into a table, which then slid across the room to where Vlad was. It happened so fast that he didn't even know what happened. All that went through his head was, _How did those guys get all the way over there?_ "Now, then, Danny, whatever shall I do with you? Oh, I know." He snapped his fingers, and a giant laser dropped from the ceiling. "I got this idea from an old _James Bond_ movie."

The door opened, and a man in his early twenties with long hair walked in. "Hey, Mr. Masters, I have a question about…" he saw what was going on, and was rendered speechless. "O…K…" He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911, but Vlad shot it out of his hand. "Hey! That's my mom's!" he said automatically. "Uh…I'm just going to…"

"I wish you hadn't seen this, Shaun," Vlad said.

"Yeah, uh, me, too…" Shaun said, backing up, slowly.

"Not so fast, my boy," Vlad shot him, gluing him to the wall.

"Ah, man, I just got this job last week," Shaun said.

"My new secretary," Vlad explained. "Also maid and janitor. Really quite useful to have around. His seeing this is really quite…unfortunate. Anyway, I'm sorry about that little interruption. Where was I? Ah, yes: time to die, Danny." The laser turned on and began to slowly make its way up.

"Wait, you can't do this," Danny said.

"Yeah, you can't," Shaun piped in.

"Why not?" Vlad asked.

"Because…uh…" Shaun stalled. "…no…uh…no…I don't think 'Because it's wrong,' will work, will it?" Vlad shook his head. "Didn't think so. Um…kid, think of something."

"My mom," Danny said.

"You can't tell her about me if you're all dead," Vlad said.

"Yeah, but you're in love with her, right?" Jazz probed.

"The woman who's picture is all about this place, red hair and a blue jumpsuit? Yeah, he's nuts about her," Shaun said.

"No comments from the peanut gallery, please," Vlad said.

"Think about how she'll feel if her kids die or never come home," Jazz said.

"You wouldn't do that to her if you loved her, man," Shaun chimed in. "That's…just wrong."

"What did I say about comments from the peanut gallery, Shaun?" Vlad asked rhetorically.

"Sorry, sir," Shaun said.

"Still, he's right," Vlad sighed. "Laser, off. Restraints, off." He closed his eyes, and the ectoplasmic restraints of the others disappeared, as well.

"So…uh, kids…should I, like, you know, go to the police?" Shaun asked.

"No," Danny said. "Don't bother. This sort of thing usually happens when I come here. Besides, they won't believe you."

"Oh, thank God! I really need this job," Shaun said.

"After you just saw him prepared to kill somebody. Seriously?" Sam asked dryly.

"Hey, after you've been unemployed for two years, you aren't too picky," Shaun said. "I'll, ah, get back to you with this, Mr. Masters."

"You do that, Shaun," Vlad said.

"Right, sir," Shaun said, and left the room, quickly.

"Well, I suppose that you came here to ask about your doppelganger," Vlad stated. "Luckily for you, since he was here three days ago, I have already looked into it."

"Well, I'd say that that was convenient, if it wasn't for this whole thing with you trying to kill us," Tucker said.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure," Vlad said dismissively. "Let's go to my study." He left the room. The teenagers gave one another a series of looks, then followed him through the halls to the study. It was a Victorian style room, full of bookshelves, and even a fireplace. Vlad sat in a leather chair behind a desk, and motioned for the others to do the same. They sat on the other side of the desk; in an eerie way, this was like a meeting with the principal. "Well, then, we should start at the beginning."

"Right," Danny said. "And that would be…"

"When you became half-ghost," Vlad said.

"Oh," Danny said. "I see."

"Do you know how that machine of your idiotic father's turned you into this?" Vlad asked. "I mean, the nature of the transformation."

"Hey, don't call my Dad--I mean, not the specific details, no," Danny said.

"Well, you see, my boy, everyone produces ectoplasm at a constant rate. Skin cells die, and also whatever creatures you might have living on or in you, things like that. We evolved long ago to repel this ectoplasm, because too much free-floating ectoplasm is lethal. The excess is drained into the Ghost Zone, where ghosts and other ecto-entities feed on it," Vlad said. "You are like a magnet who's polarity has been reversed. Instead of repelling ectoplasm, you absorb it, and instead of dying, you channel it into a ghost body, which is always becoming stronger as it absorbs more of your and everyone else's ectoplasm."

"So I'm always going to get stronger and stronger?" Danny asked.

"Well, there are limits to what your body can handle, so you had best do something ghostly to burn off that ectoplasm, but your accursed superheroing takes care of that," Vlad said. "Anyway, when your polarity was reversed, there just happened to be a huge quantity of ectoplasm available for you to absorb, and you have a powerful pull, it seems. You feel like a whirlpool."

"What do you mean?…" Danny asked.

"It's one of those things that I'll teach you about if you join me," Vlad said.

"I'll pass on that," Danny said. "Just hurry up and tell me what that thing was."

"Your loss, my boy," Vlad said. "Anyway, your body wanted ectoplasm like the Sahara Desert wanted rain, and when you absorbed all that ectoplasm, one of the denizens of the Ghost Zone was pulled along for the ride. Your body naturally tried to configure it all along its previously-existing specifications, in short to turn all that ectoplasm into an 'astral clone' of you, your ghost-body. This entity somehow protected its mind from being erased and overwritten like a computer by your body's subconscious actions, and then had to wait for your body to overflow with ectoplasm so that it could break free of you with your own ghost form."

"But you just said doing my ghost thing should have been enough to keep the ectoplasm in check," Danny pointed out.

"And it should have. I have two theories on that. One is that you spend a lot of time in the ghost zone, where you're literally swimming through the stuff, and so might be collecting faster than you can spend," Vlad said. "Of course, I have never had that problem, but it's still possible."

"And the other theory…" Danny probed.

"Well, I'm not sure I should tell you, what with us being mortal enemies," Vlad said.

"Vlad…" Danny threatened.

"Well, I suppose that if it's true, you'll find out eventually, and if it's not, it doesn't matter. I have noticed for a while that you don't seem as strong as I was when I was at a similar level in my ghastly education. It could be that I was older and larger than you, had more room for ectoplasm in me. It could also be that I am simply remembering wrong. After all, it has been twenty years. Or, maybe, and this is just a theory, the entity has been holding you back, siphoning your energy back into you to ensure that you would have to overflow eventually," Vlad said. "Mind, it's just a theory, but that would mean that not only is he as strong as you were, he's _stronger_."

"Well, this just keeps getting worse and worse," Danny said.

"On the bright side, that would mean that when you get your powers back, you'll be stronger than ever," Tucker said.

"And when will _that_ be?" Danny asked.

"According to my calculations? Five months," Vlad said. "More, if it's true about his holding back your strength."

"Is there any faster way?" Danny asked.

"You could go into the Ghost Zone, but there's no guarantee that it won't happen again," Vlad said.

"How likely is that?" Danny asked.

"No idea. It happened to you and not to me, so according to the test sample, there's a fifty percent likelihood," Vlad said. "Wait, don't take that literally. It was a joke. I forgot what your grades were like."

"Ha, ha," Danny said dryly. And then he saw his breath.

"Vladimir, I'm disappointed," the doppelganger phased through the door, dragging a very pale Shaun with him. "You wanna know something? Your little assistant is deathly afraid of ghosts."

"Not _deathly_ afraid," Shaun protested weakly. "It's just, well, the implications of ghosts actually existing…it freaks me out…" he looked at the others, and then he noticed something about Danny. "You two look a lot alike. Are you, like, related, or something?"

"Or something," Danny said.

"Shut up," the ghost barked at his captive.

"Let him go, …um, what am I supposed to call you?" Danny asked.

"An excellent question. The funny thing is, I don't seem to be able to remember just _what_ my name was. Spending month after month inside of someone else's body, inside of someone else's head, can tear away at you, you see. Every day that passed, I could feel a little more of me get absorbed into you. I couldn't save my body, but my mind…I had to put myself into a near-catatonic state, and that was still only partially successful. You almost erased me from existence! Do you wonder why I hate you?"

"It's not like I did that to you on purpose. I didn't even know that you were there," Danny protested.

"That's the worst part of it! Not only was I being slowly absorbed into you, you didn't even know I was there! You were killing me, and you didn't even acknowledge that I existed!" the ghost was getting frantic, and Shaun, realizing that his captor's sanity was barely attached by a string, tried to break free. The ghost tossed him against a wall, where he was knocked unconscious. "Prepare to die, Danny Fenton!"

His blast was blocked by Vlad's ghost shield. "Go! I'll keep him fro following you." He transformed.

"Wow, uh, thanks, Vlad," Danny said. The teenagers fled the room.

"Really, Vlad?" Danny's doppelganger said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"I doubt that I'll have much more trouble against you than I do against young Daniel," Vlad said.

"Ah, yes. I see. I didn't think you had it in you to sacrifice yourself for another," the ghost said. "You don't seem to realize just how much of Danny's vitality I have been leaching off of him. Plus, though this particular form is new to me, I have been a ghost longer than you have."

"And you don't realize that I go easy on Danny because I want him to join me," Vlad said.

"Ah yes, that little dream family of yours where Maddie is your wife and little Danny is your stepson," the ghost mocked. "You're pathetic, man. It will never happen. Danny hates you, and his mother is married to a fat retard." He laughed. "Give up, fool."

"Never," Vlad said. "I love Maddie. There can be no other."

"Aw, how sweet. Like a kicked puppy," the ghost continued to mock. "You know what I think? I think you think it's noble, to pine to death out here. All it is is pathetic, Vladimir my boy. To throw your life away so foolishly…but you'll have all your afterlife to think about what an idiot you have been."

"Now you've done something you shouldn't have," Vlad said. "You've made me mad."


	2. Chapter 2

Some nameless city, or so it seemed. No doubt, it _had_ a name, but none of the four travelers had been paying attention if it was on a sign coming into town. It didn't really matter what the name was, anyway, for all that they were going to see of it was the bus station, while they waited for the bus that would take them to California. So, for all intents and purposes, it was nameless.

"So, Jazz, what did you tell our parents we were doing?" Danny asked idly.

"Amateur nation-wide ghost-hunting expedition," Jazz said.

"Seriously? And that _worked?_ Mom and Dad let us miss a week of school for _that?_" Danny asked, unbelievingly.

"These are our parents we're talking about, remember," Jazz reminded.

"Oh, yeah. That's right," Danny said.

"That wouldn't have worked with _our_ parents, though," Sam said, gesturing at herself and Tucker. "What did you tell them?"

"Well,--"

"So sorry to interrupt, but I have unfinished business with the lot of you," Danny's doppelganger made a reappearance. He charged a blast. "Especially you, Danny boy!"

"Everyone, get out of here!" Danny shouted. "He's after me!"

"That's right," the ghost said. "I _am_ after you. And who knows? If you manage to distract me long enough, your friends and family might even get away. That's fair incentive for you to not lose me too quickly, don't you think?"

"You sadistic bastard," Danny cursed.

"Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more dying," and then he fired. Danny dodged behind a row of seats. "Oh, gee, I wonder where he went." he fired again, and Danny was just barely able to roll away. "What are you, a cat? Just die!" Danny ran for his life. "What are you doing? This room is a large, open--" Danny made it to the hallway. "Well, that's what I get for talking when I could have been shooting," the ghost said, following. Danny wasn't in the hallway. "Where did--ah." The ghost headed towards the men's restroom. "No, wait. What am I thinking?" He went into the women's restroom instead. "Let's see, I _could_ take the time to check all of these stalls…or," he blasted all of the stall walls down. Danny was standing on the toilet of the third from the right. "Nice try, but you're no match for me, kid. Now, then, how do you die? Plasma blast? Too quick. Ice? Not gratifying enough. How about if I strangle you with my bare hands? Yes, that sounds perfect." And this he proceeded to do. However…

As soon as the ghost touched him, Danny felt that he was being electrocuted again. He screamed in agony, and so did the ghost. Danny felt himself falling to the floor, and caught himself. For the second time he was looking up at this entity whom emerged from his body and wore his face from the ground, in what could not be a more compromising position. The doppelganger was patting his body, as if caught aflame. He was whimpering as he did it, causing Danny to think that, maybe…

"Everything's still attached, thank god," the ghosts said. He glared down at Danny. "I should have known better than to attack you in this state. You're just going to try to gobble me up, again. Aren't you, you little leach? Ah, well. See you in six months, after your reputation is thoroughly trashed." He disappeared, leaving Danny with the feeling of having barely avoided death.

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"I can't wait six months!" Danny said, discarding a newspaper. There was a picture of "Danny Phantom" robbing a bank on the front page. They were in the Fenton lab.

"What are you going to do?" Tucker asked. "If you go into the Ghost Zone, you could electrocute yourself, not to mention absorbing another little spirit, and starting this whole thing over again."

"I know, but, I just can't…" Danny started, then shook his head. "I'll have to risk it."

"Um, what if you had a source of ectoplasm you knew didn't have anything in it?" Jazz suggested.

"Yeah, but where--" Danny slapped himself on the forehead. "The Fenton Portal's ecto-filtrater. Duh. If I wasn't a 'D' student, I would have thought of that a week ago." He walked over to the Fenton Portal and removed the ecto-filtrator.

Tucker asked, "How are you going to--"

Danny raised the filtrator like a glass. "Cheers," and he downed it. "Well, that wasn't so--_aaahhhh!!!!!!_ Jesus fu--oomph," whatever the end of that sentence would have been, it was interrupted when a drop to the floor winded him. There were shouts of concern, but he got to his feet unassisted. "Well, _that_ is something I'd rather not do again. Ever."

"Danny, you idiot!" Jazz shouted, relieved. "Didn't you hear Vlad when he said that stuff was toxic to humans?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not entirely human, now, am I?" Danny said.

"Lets make sure that you won't have to, well, do that again," Sam said.

"Right," Danny said. "I'm going ghost!" And then he did--sort of.

"Maybe his costume changed again," Tucker suggested.

"No, I still have that weird symbol on my T-shirt that Sam gave me," Danny said. "This is like when Dash and I were shrunken. I don't have enough power; the fact that this _is_ still a T-shirt is proof of that."

"Where do you keep the old filtrators?" Sam asked. "Do you throw them away?"

"No, not since the incident with the ecto-enhanced machines," Jazz said. "It's just too dangerous. This way."

"This is going to be fun," Danny said in a tone that stated, clearly, that the experience would be anything but.

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The doppelganger was robbing another bank when he was hit by a plasma blast.

"Dude, why are you even robbing banks? It's not like you can use the money, anyway," Danny said.

"It's the thought that counts," the ghost said. "Or rather, the bad PR you receive from it all. And don't you get self-righteous on me; there's only one way you could have gotten your powers back so quickly."

"If you mean go into the Ghost Zone, nope. I found another way," Danny said.

"Don't lie to me, boy! It's the only way. You went into the Ghost Zone to suck up power, and risk absorbing someone else like me into you," the ghost accused angrily.

"Actually, there's all the ectoplasm I could ever need in the Fenton Works Biohazard Storage," Danny said.

The ghost slapped himself on the forehead. "Right. And I call myself the smart one. No matter; in a few minutes, you will be the _dead_ one!"

"But…aren't you both already ghosts?" a nervous bank teller pointed out.

"Not here," Danny said. "There are all these civilians."

"What do I care? In fact, the fact that you _do_ care makes me care _less_."

"Yeah, but you want to attack me a lot more than you want this money or anyone in here, which means that you will follow me when I do this," Danny said, flying through the ceiling.

"Hey! Get back here!" his doppelganger shouted, dropped the money, and flew through the ceiling after him. They circled each other aerobatically at top speed, chasing one another around town and above it. Then Danny was hit, and plummeted to earth, cracking asphalt. "You can't win. I know everything about you. You can't outfly, outfight, outsmart, or out-anything me."

_Then I'll have to out-devious you,_ Danny thought. Then, _Is "out-devious" even a word?_ "Yeah? Watch me!" Danny flew at the ghost, who neatly segued out of his way, avoiding a devastating blow. They flew and traded punches, Danny receiving more than he was giving. Then he was dealt another serious blow, and was flying for the ground again. Noticing a house blocking his path to the ground, he went intangible before he hit the roof, and ended up in a room.

"Ooh, ghost-boy, you came," Paullina said excitedly.

"Paullina? You need to get out of here. Quickly," Danny said.

"Oh, what are the odds?" the doppelganger laughed, coming through the ceiling as Danny had. "Of all the houses you could have crashed through the ceiling of it had to be the one with the girl you like."

"Which one of you is real? Wait…you like me? Really?" Paullina asked.

"Leave her out of this," Danny shouted at his double.

"Mmm, no, I don't think I will," the ghost said. He grabbed Paullina from behind and hefted her off the ground. His fist began to glow. "This is too rich an opportunity to pass up. Either you sacrifice yourself to me, or she dies."

"How do I know you won't just kill her once you're done with me?" Danny demanded.

"Oh, please!" the ghost retorted. "I have no interest in this shallow little teenager. You let me kill you, and she is free to go. I'd give you my word, but I hate you so much that I'd be almost obligated to break it."

"Very well," Danny said, getting down on one knee. "Let her go."

"In a second," the ghost said, pointing his glowing hand at Danny. "First, though, you--" he was hit with ice blasts coming out of the walls on three sides.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Let me get this straight," Sam asked: "You used Paullina as _bait?_"

"That's cold, man," Tucker said.

"I needed him to believe that he had the upper hand. I knew I couldn't beat him honestly, so I had to do it with treachery," Danny said.

"Yes, but how exactly did you beat him?" Sam asked.

"Well, first, I positioned myself and left an opening, so that he'd punch me into Paullina's room, and then as soon as I landed, I began to channel my power into the floor and through that to the walls," Danny explained.

"You can do that?" Tucker asked.

"Sure. It's just like when I use my power to make you and Sam intangible with me," Danny said. "Anyway, I let my power build in the walls until the it built up enough to take him out, and then I hit him from the walls behind him and to his sides. In retrospect, a million things could have gone wrong. He could have noticed that I went down too easy, he could have noticed that there was frost forming on the walls, he could have been holding Paullina a bit closer to his body…" Danny shuddered, "I don't think I'll be using underhanded tactics very often."

"So, where is he?" Sam asked. Danny shook a Fentom Thermos. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Well, at first, I was thinking of keeping him in this thing, but then, I realize that he was trapped inside my body for months and months, so that could only make him more psychotic. I'm going to throw him into the Ghost Zone," Danny said. "Maybe he'll make some friends, get some psychological help, I don't know; something."

"Fat chance," Tucker said under his breath.

FIN

Author's Commentary (As If You Care)

This story could not have gone in a more opposite direction from the original idea that spawned it. You see, I was looking for a way to get Danny and Ember together, and I had the idea that if ghost-Danny was split from his human side…but no, he would still be Danny, be he human or ghost, and that would not make it any easier to get them together. Then I had the idea to make it a tiny ghost, like Skulker in his natural form, that was sucked into Danny's body when he was transformed (the second time he was transformed, not that it gets mentioned in the story)…but no, then it wouldn't really be Danny, it would be an original character wearing Danny's face. It was unusable as a premise for an Ember/Danny romance, but it was too promising to just discard, and so this is what happened. I might make an Ember/Danny romance fic in the future, after all, they _do_ make a cute couple, but it probably won't be any time soon, so don't get too hopeful, Ember/Danny fans.

My OC (for even if he has no name and looks exactly like Danny, he is an OC) hates Danny pathologically; it is literally an obsession. Granted, he spent god knows how long doing all that he could to keep himself from being erased by Danny's subconscious mind, and not entirely succeeding. It doesn't come up in the story, but the thing is, that there wasn't enough of his mind left to be a proper mind and keep a physical (or metaphysical, whatever) form alive, so he had to fill in the gaps with pieces of Danny's mind. This, combined with the fact that he can remember with clarity Danny's memories while the memories of his own life were hazy at best, only served to fuel his hatred.

I'm sorry I couldn't show you the battle between Vlad and the OC. It was epic, but alas, the story was long enough as it was. It also never came up, but Vlad's mansion was utterly destroyed in the fight. Originally, Vlad was supposed to call up Danny to tell him that he was sending a messenger through the Ghost Zone with filtrators full of ectoplasm (Vlad, being smarter than Danny, figured it out sooner than Danny did), and mention that the ghost destroyed his mansion. But then I realized that the Fentons probably couldn't throw this stuff out. I mean, did you see the episode where Danny had the garage sale and all that stuff was covered in ectoplasm and became possessed (unless I'm mistaken, it's also the first time we met Technis)? Can you imagine a possessed garbage dump? I, for one, don't want to. So, if they couldn't throw out their ectoplasm, they had to store it, and if they stored it, there was no reason for Vlad to send his parcel, and we never get to learn that his house was destroyed. (Not to mention, it shortened the story a little more.)

Also, in this story, the characters are all rather…talky. They're like that in the show, though. Granted, that's because it's a television show, and you have no other way to tell how they feel and stuff other than what they say and what they do, but still. The idea was to keep it within the bounds of that reality. Danny frequently converses with the bad guys while he fights them in the show, so he does that here, as well. Besides, fights have lots of detail, which isn't really my strong point as a writer, and so having them talk as they fought helped there, as well. It also explained why Danny was able to get across a wide open room without being shot by the bad guy. Yea, loopholes! Even if he had been shot by his doppelganger, he wouldn't have died, though; at that point, his body was so hungry for ectoplasm that it would actually have absorbed the energy blast. It would have hurt like a son of a bitch (because of the painful electrocution feeling he got when he absorbed more than minimal levels of ectoplasm), but it wouldn't have been lethal. As a matter of fact, I have half a mind to go back right not and change the whole scene so that Danny is hit point blank as he is fleeing the OC and survives, causing the OC to go ape shit and try to strangle him with his own hands, causing them both to be electrocuted…and you know the rest from there. The key phrase in that sentence, however, is "_half_ a mind." Sorry, I'm just too lazy.

Overall, I must say that I'm pleased with what I have done here, but I must say that I am a bit worries about it wearing thin in places. I believe that, after a while, a fanfic can't help but to wear and tear at it's characters. The authors can be good, but they're not _the_ authors of the show, so, well, ever heard the expression about giving a man enough rope and he'll hang himself? Yeah, it's like that. That's why I try not to read anything that is really, truly long (remembers that he has been reading _The Transparent and the Opaque_ for a while now um, never mind). Also, with all the chatter. You might not be able to tell with by looking at this fic, but I am not a fan of chatter. I prefer a more introspective mode of conducting my stories.

And now, for the part where I shamelessly plug my other works in the _Danny Phantom_ fandom. The truth is, though, the only other story I have written here to date is _Necromancy_. In it, necromancers come to Amity Park searching for creatures they call "hellions," who can transform into humans or ghosts, and they mistake Danny for one of the evil creatures. You know, a lot of my OC's end up attacking the heroes of their fandoms, for one reason or another, now that I have thought about it. Huh. No, it's a good story, and you should read it.

Also like _Necromancy_, this wasn't thought out as a chapter work, but ended up being too long to be a one-shot. I'm sorry, but all together, this is nearly 7000 words, which is a little long for a one-shot, even for me. So, I cut it roughly in half. The chapters are unnamed and unheaded (and yes, I just made that word up), which they wouldn't be if it were an intentional thing, but as I said, it wasn't.

Well, I think that that's all of it. Thank you, and good night. Please R&R. I hope you enjoyed this story, and will tell all your friends to read it, as well. And review; always review. My fragile ego depends upon your praise. Or not. Whatever. Just do it, okay? Anyway, thank you for reading, and good bye.


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